It is well known everyone needs to relieve themselves of liquid and solid waste in a lavatory frequently and regularly. Often, however, people are in locations that are inaccessible to an immediate use of such facilities. For example, a person may be indoors but there may be a line to go to the restroom. More commonly, a person may be outdoors and no lavatory facility is conveniently available. Outdoor locations where such situations are most common include but are not limited to camping trips, hiking, parades, amusement parks, outdoor recreational activities, long car rides, outdoor fairs or anything else. Even if such facilities are available the lavatory may be too far away. Even if the lavatory is available and not too far away, there may be a long line to use it. Thus there is an obvious need to have lavatory facilities that are conveniently located.
For some individuals such as pregnant women, individuals with bladder weaknesses and other individual with particular medical conditions the problem of not having a nearby lavatory when needed is not merely an issue of convenience and comfort but rather an acute medical problem. Conversely, such individuals, by virtue of their expectation of having to avoid placing themselves in such a predicament may be forced to limit their own mobility. Since such individuals may have busy lifestyles they may not appreciate having to condition their activities on the constant availability of bathroom facilities.
Attempted solutions to the above problem include making available cubicle-type lavatories outdoors near parks, parades, fairs and other public activities so that a member of the public can use said facilities. Such a solution would not alleviate the problem of a person in a long car ride. Moreover, this solution would not be satisfactory for individuals with medically-based need to always have a lavatory conveniently available wherever they may be, and regardless of their lifestyle. In addition, this attempted solution would require prior placement of large amounts of these bulky cubicles in so many different places that it would be expensive and unsightly. Another problem with these cubicle-style lavatories is that they require lighting inside and this requires them to be electrically wired to a nearby electrical power source.
Prior art outdoor lavatory facilities are also unclean. Furthermore, since they are designed for the public, they often generate long lines, which for some people defeats the purpose of having such a lavatory available. A further drawback associated with known prior art ad hoc toilets is that they either make noise from flushing or would require a lot of expense for insulation to block such noise. There are situations when such noise is a drawback. For example, when camping outdoors near other individuals the flushing noise has numerous disadvantages, such as unpleasantness, a tendency to wake up fellow campers, the possibility and danger of attracting animals, etc. Other such situations can readily be envisioned. There is a need for a portable toilet that does not make any noise from its use other than the natural minimal sounds of a person using the facilities.
Toilets to address the needs delineated above need to be designed for use anywhere, including, and possibly especially, in the dark. This is essential since the inherent need for privacy associated with this activity itself causes the absence of light. That is, the need for privacy requires enclosing oneself from outside sources of view and this necessarily blocks off outside light sources as well. Prior art toilets other than those in homes and offices, for example the bulky cubicle-style lavatories that are common in urban settings such as parades, generally include electrical lighting built in. Such built-in lighting is expensive and complicated.
In general the cubicle-style lavatories placed near parks and other urban settings are not realistic for camping settings or hiking. Furthermore, these lavatories are in any even not portable and hence cannot address the needs of those who want a guaranteed access to a toilet, Such lavatories are not inexpensive to manufacture and are expensive to maintain. Moreover, as noted, they are typically unclean. Thus there is also a need for a portable toilet ideal for use even in darkness that is easy to manufacture and maintain, that can be wheeled around and that is quiet and clean. The present invention meets these criteria and provides many other advantages as well.